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Prank call

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A prank call, also known as a crank call, hoax call, or phony phone call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. As with all practical jokes, prank calls are generally done for humorous effect, though there is a thin line between humor and harassment, and the person receiving the call may not find it funny.

Even very prominent people have fallen victim to prank callers, as for example Queen Elizabeth II [1], who was fooled by Canadian DJ Pierre Brassard posing as Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, asking her to record a speech in support of Canadian unity ahead of the 1995 Quebec referendum. Two other particularly famous examples of prank calls were made by the Miami-based radio station Radio El Zol. In one, they telephoned Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and spoke to him, pretending to be Cuban president Fidel Castro [2]. They later repeated the prank, except that they called Castro and pretended to be Chávez. Castro reacted to the prank by calling them "bastards". El Zol was also fined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Prank calls are generally done for the amusement of the pranksters themselves. Many pranksters record the calls to share the joke with an audience. Some performers such as the Jerky Boys have made a name for themselves producing albums of their recorded prank calls. Other prank call performers, such as The Touch-Tone Terrorists and Roy D. Mercer have garnered a following as well. The television show Crank Yankers is a series of real-life prank calls made by celebrities and re-enacted on-screen by puppets for a humorous effect.

The group Prank Machine had nearly 200 calls available entirely free to the public on their website before it was closed as the result of legal action put forth by one Emilia Seldon. This was considered to be the first major action of its kind. Some of the more controversial calls can still be found through various sources, and the site has since reopened at a new ___location, although the content and format have been drastically altered, presumably due to legal constraints.

There is also a small but lively prank call community on the radio, some of which is centered around a SHOUTcast Internet radio station called "PCU: Prank Call Underground Radio". The radio station plays a stream of various prank calls. There are also several live shows run by people known as KDK, Zolar, Sean Ward, Billy Mira, Carlito, Reclude, and others.

Also, Michael Biggins (whose real name is Michael Bigansky) has a website known as Blackout's Box. The website is devoted to prank calls, other forms of entertainment and discussions on philosophy. Biggins hosts a radio show on Thursday nights dedicated to these pursuits.

Examples of prank calls

Some examples of well-known prank calls are:

Caller: Do you have Prince Albert in a Can?
Receiver: Yes, I do.
Caller: Then you'd better let him out!
Caller: Hello! Is your refrigerator running?
Receiver: Yes, it is.
Caller: Then you'd better go catch it!

(The first example appeared in Family Guy in the episode "Fifteen Minutes of Shame," where Stewie and Brian prank call the show "Diane" when the rest of the Griffin family were on stage. The second one was parodied on The Simpsons, with the response being "as a matter of fact, my refrigerator wasn't running! Your timely phone call saved me from a great deal of unnecessary spoilage! Thank you, anonymous young man!" In addition, the first two prank calls were used on episodes of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, the latter one in "Partying Is Such Sweet Soireé", and the former in "Bloo's Brothers".)

Other examples

Often times, pranksters attempt to use wordplay to get their victims to unsuspectingly use vulgarities. This was attempted by the Plutonians in an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, asking the Mooninites for "Michael Hunt." Oglethorpe, still finding humor despite his mistake, didn't realize he was supposed to ask for "Mike Hunt" (my cunt). In response to this, the Mooninites called back asking for "Holden McGroin" (holding my groin). Harvey Kneeslapper on Sesame Street liked to prank call old ladies and try to get them to dance by singing to them. Pee-wee Herman made a prank call on his video phone to a woman in curlers on an episode of Pee-wee's Playhouse--"Is your refrigerator running? Well, go catch it!". Her husband turned out to be a cop and screamed at him not to to it again because "it's against the law!"

The Simpsons: prank calls to Moe's Tavern

During the early years of The Simpsons, a popular recurring gag involved Bart making prank calls to Moe's Tavern. The calls usually followed a set pattern: Bart would ask for a non-existent person, Moe would shout loudly for the person Bart asked for, Moe catching on only after the bar (usually) erupts in uproarious laughter, and Moe threatening violent revenge upon catching the perpetrator. Moe never seemed to realize that it was Bart who made the calls until he hears Bart's voice in the bar.

"People" whom Bart has asked for include:

  • I.P Freely - (I pee freely)
  • Jacques Strappe – (jock strap)
  • Ivanna Tinkle – (I wanna tinkle)
  • Heywood U. Cuddleme – (Hey, would you cuddle me?)
  • Amanda Huggenkiss – (A man to hug and kiss)
  • Mike Rotch – (My crotch)
  • Al Coholic – (Alcoholic)
  • Bea O'Problem – (B.O. problem)
  • Seymour Butz – (See more butts)
  • Anita Bath – (I need a bath)
  • Homer Sexual – (A homosexual)
  • Lee V. Mediately - (Leave immediately)
  • Ura Snotball - (You're a snotball)
  • G.I. Manidiot - (Gee, I'm an idiot)
  • Hugh Jazz - (Huge ass)
  • Ollie Tabooger (I'll eat a booger)
  • Oliver Clothesoff (All of her clothes off!)

One backfire on this formula was a call to "Hugh Jass" (huge ass), as there turned out to be a person in the bar named Hugh Jass. Another backfire was when Homer was running the bar and didn't know how to carry out the prank when Bart asked for Ollie Tabooger (I'll eat a booger). A third was a time where Mr. Burns called Moe's by mistake whille looking for Smithers, and was threatened by Moe who thought it was a prank call.

Reaction

It is possible that caller ID will reduce the number of prank calls. However, most telephone companies currently permit callers to withhold caller ID if they do not wish the called party to know their identity.

Sometimes the joke can be taken too far, especially if the prankster succeeds in making his victim believe the scenario is real. Prank call comedian Jim Florentine (who mainly takes incoming calls from telemarketers and turns the tables by performing pranks on them) has had the police called on him on more than one occasion for taking his jokes too far. During one call, Florentine tells an insurance agent that, rather than pay to keep an elderly woman alive, he is going to go to the hospital and smother her with a pillow [3]. After the call, the agent called 911 and gave them Florentine's number and the address on file, and the police arrived at his home with guns drawn. However, when the police showed up and discovered it was actually a prank, the officer simply asked, "Don't you think you're a little old for this?" [4].

Criminal offense

Prank calls range from annoying hang-ups to false calls to emergency services or bomb threats. Prank calls that waste the time of emergency services are a criminal offense in most countries.

One such hoax call occurred in Perth, Australia, on New Year's Eve 2002, when a drunken teenager called the new anti-terrorist hotline to report a bomb threat against the New Year's Eve fireworks celebration [5]. The threat was taken seriously, and the celebrations were about to be canceled, when police discovered that no such threat existed. The teen was arrested for deliberate false reporting.

Tension was also caused in December 2005, when a Catholic Church-owned radio station in Spain played a prank on Bolivian president-elect Evo Morales. The hoaxer pretended to be Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, congratulating Morales on his election [6] and saying things like, "I imagine the only one not to have called you was George Bush. I've been here two years and he still hasn't called me" [7]. The Bolivian government protested to Spain, and the real Zapatero called Morales and apologized. The Spanish government in turn summoned the papal nuncio in protest.

In the United States of America, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 makes some prank calls a felony with penalties of up to two years in prison, and possible fines (depending on severity). However, such penalties were rarely carried out. As an example, the Chicago shock jock Erich "Mancow" Muller, after being criticized for the extensive use of prank calls on his radio show, broadcast the sarcastic remark: "Reality check for you people: Chicago's the murder capital of America. The police don't care if you get a prank call." Today the National Security Agency currently uses wiretapping often not just to fight terrorism but to trace prank calls.

Moreover, to make a prank call that falls afoul of the Telecommunications Act, 47 U.S.C. 223 (a)(1), the call must be done with the intent to "annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass". Arguably then, if the intent of the call is to amuse, confuse, or simply to engage the call's recipient, there is no violation of the Telecommunications Act.

Greek culture of prank calls

Outside the US, prank phone calls are often driven by a more hard-line approach.

In Greece, many pranksters are considered "Kafroi" (Κάφροι), an extension of the Zamanfou philosophy that emphasizes on the lack of respect for established guidelines of behavior. This philosophy is used by the "Kafros" to create an unsettling climate for the victims of their pranks. Often times, wordplay and dual meanings are used to deceive the victims into believing situations or statements in a very harsh and dramatic way, resulting in emotions of anger and despair, purely for the sake of amusement.

The most famous of these pranksters are "Fousekis" (Φουσέκης), followed by "Lentis" (Λέντης) and "Barc0de". All three are widely popular among the youth and are considered to be "underground". The recordings of their pranks were widely circulated, initially in tape format, and later converted into digital format. All three have created a style of humor that is often followed by imitators trying to make a name for themselves by surpassing them. These pranksters are not related in any way, are from different eras, and have distinct styles of humor that have over the years created a fan base for each one of them.

See also

References

  1. ^ bbc.co.uk article on Queen Elizabeth II prank call
  2. ^ bbc.co.uk article on Hugo Chávez prank call
  3. ^ Terrorizing Telemarketers III, Jim Florentine
  4. ^ liner notes, Terrorizing Telemarketers III, Jim Florentine
  5. ^ Perth, Australia bomb threat hoax
  6. ^ Prank call to Evo Morales
  7. ^ Transcript of call (in Spanish)
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